Thanks mate, missed your reply earlier
I've actually already been contacted about some second hand gear, so hopefully I'll strike a deal there.
One thing that I noticed moving to Sydney was the skies are....bare! I knew light pollution was worse here but seriously, this bad? Back in Auckland, out in Titirangi I could see the Milky Way clouds and watch the odd rare object burn up in the atmosphere. I look up here, and all I see is the moon, and about four stars. Ugh!
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Originally Posted by ZeroID
Hi Gareth, from a 'stay at home' Kiwi. Welcome to the madhouse.
Check the second hand listings on here first. Hopefully you'll find someone upgrading and looking to move his older gear along. I know the EQ6 is the lowest$\best Value for astro photog ( I've got one ) but a second hand EQ5 or simlar will do quite happily and you will find when you are ready to move up then it will still be a very desirable buy for the next newbie. An EQ6 is also a very heavy beastie btw, I'm building an Observatory at home so I don't have to do the put it up, take it down and all the alignment dance every time I want to use it.
Other than that Bintel in Sydney has the stuff, good guys to deal with, been there, done that. And there are other suppliers in Aus which seem quite good too, certainly more than in NZ.
Can't help you with the Astro Clubs but they all accept complete beginners and they can let you try some scopes, setups before you buy.
The little ED80 is a nice wee scope but not sure how your Sydney skies will let you see much with the small aperture. I have done moon pix with my 10 Dob with a 2" Focusser and the DSLR attached and if you want to learn the skies etc I still reckon a biggish (8"-10") Dob is the way to go for any beginner. Least that way you get to see some good stuff to whet your appetite and it will cut through the LP.
Ok, enough. Hang round, ask questions, get Stellarium (free btw) and start learning the ropes, it's along haul but fun all the way.
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